I just got my new Nitro II and wanted to share my thoughts and opinions...

I am 6'4" tall and weigh 215 lbs. I've been riding 4.5 years and have ridden and owned: Liquid Force Havok 16m and Session 12m , Ocean Rodeo Rise 13m, Flysurfer Speed 3 21m, Latitude 10m, Ozone Zephyr 17m and Edge 15m, Cahrinha Crossbow 18m and 11m. I currently have an Edge 15m, crossbow 11m and my new nitro II 12m.
I was researching a replacement for my 11m Crossbow and thinking I was going to go to an edge 11m as I like the Ozone performance. But they are almost 2k new. Crazy. I saw a Switch kite at our local spot and looked it up online since I'd never heard of Switch before. Turns out, Switch kites are very highly reviewed and regarded. So after extended research, I pulled the trigger and bought my Nitro 2 12m. Having never ridden one prior.

I saved almost $1k over buying an 11m edge.

The kite arrived in four days from the Hong Kong warehouse. Pretty fast considering.

Construction quality: Bomber. It's the only way to describe it. The kite is built like a tank and I've seen a lot of kites. Seams are straight, true, and thoroughly stitched. Graphics are subdued and tasteful.
Everything about the bar, lines, and hardware is impressive. No shortcuts were taken anywhere in the build and fitting of the components.
The bag is nice with extra touches to appreciate.

I could not wait to get to the beach.

I like to ride overpowered. Boosting high and floating long are my goals. When I launched the Nitro 2 it was blowing maybe 17-18mph. A bit light for my weight and riding style, but I had to get the Nitro 2 some water time.

Wow. Pulls like a truck, especially once the kite gets some apparent wind going. Bar pressure is perfect. Light but not too much so. Sheeting effort is easy. Trimming the kite is a simple cleat within easily adjustable reach. Nice.

Kite turns fast for a 12m but feels very, very stable.

And it looks good up there as you're cruising along.

Then the wind picked up. 19-23mph or so.

Boosting. To the moon. Hangtime. Oh, yes. This kite is perfect. Huge boosts. Nice loft and hangtime. Settles down light as a feather. It was easy to get my timing down and just launch. I'm not sure what the aspect is or whether it's a C / Bow / Delta / Hybrid, but it boosts awesome!

I bought the 12m Nitro 2 when it first came out and agree with the construction being awesome. I sold it after about 5 sessions because it pulled too hard. I weigh 155 and in 18 knots I could fly upwind but after a jump or any trick where I needed to land downwind, the kite would not stop pulling to allow me to regain my edge. Many times I needed to stick my ass in the water to stop the downwind pull. The wind range is very narrow for these kites in my opinion and I love to fly powered but this one was too much for me. I since bought 2 new Ozone Edges 9 & 11m and couldn't be happier. A much better kite all round in performance but not built like the nitro 2. Anyhow I don't crash often so I'm sure the build quality of Ozone will do just fine.

flybykite wrote:I bought the 12m Nitro 2 when it first came out and agree with the construction being awesome. I sold it after about 5 sessions because it pulled too hard. I weigh 155 and in 18 knots I could fly upwind but after a jump or any trick where I needed to land downwind, the kite would not stop pulling to allow me to regain my edge. Many times I needed to stick my ass in the water to stop the downwind pull. The wind range is very narrow for these kites in my opinion and I love to fly powered but this one was too much for me. I since bought 2 new Ozone Edges 9 & 11m and couldn't be happier. A much better kite all round in performance but not built like the nitro 2. Anyhow I don't crash often so I'm sure the build quality of Ozone will do just fine.

Great honest reviews on here.
However at around 155 pounds in 18 knots I personally would not be riding a 12m nitro2 (twin tip)
The kite has solid power.
I would have been on a 10 m kite with out any question. Lot more efficiency would have come out of it this way. (twin tip)

Food for thought I have 230 pound riders on 12m nitros riding waves in 15 knots on a surfboard at my local spot.

Every one has different tastes but it does help when you are matched up with the right size canopy for your conditions and size.